Chapter 3

Iglanced around and tried to sit up. My whole body ached, and I felt like I had road rash up and down my legs. The fishnet of my costume was torn, and my skin felt like it was on fire. If I hadn't been wearing the leather jacket, my arms would've been toast. I glared up at him and staggered to my feet and threw my hair from my face. I held my hands in fists and opened my stance. This time he wouldn't catch me off guard.

"What did you do?"

A cruel smile spread over his lips, and he glared at me. I took another step back before he could lunge for me. Green smoke flowed up from his feet and around his body. Two black horns peeked out from his mess of hair. They were straight, smooth spikes about six inches long that angled back from his face. That green smoke covered him and drifted up over his head. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. A small spark jumped from his fingertips, and fire exploded around him. Heat flickered over my skin, and I stumbled back from the flames consuming him. A moment later he was gone, and I was left standing there . . . alone.

Nice magic trick, asshole.

I spun in a circle and sucked in a sharp breath. This had to be a different themed part of the hotel, maybe under construction . . . Or I was tripping hard as hell from something slipped in my drink. Because there was no way this place was legit. It was too outrageous to be believable, and yet it felt so visceral, so here . . . so real.

The ground was barren and made of long slabs of uneven slate stones. A thin layer of dust covered the land along with those tiny, jagged pebbles I'd scraped myself on. Wind whipped across flat plains and sent a deep chill down my spine. I wanted to think I was in one of those huge domes that was all interactive like a video game. The hard ground, the theatrical gray sky with sweeping cloud coverage, the way the wind blew . . . it all felt so real, yet it was like no place I'd ever been before. But how could that be? How could I have gone from a Vegas nightclub to this?

Was I drugged and lost in my damn mind? I spun around once more, taking it all in. "Hello! Rhode! Sephira!"

Nothing.

Behind me stood a gathering of jagged slate stones that looked like swords jutting from the ground. They leaned against each other and pointed toward the sky. The air shimmered around them. In the distance toward the mountains, there were ruins high among the peaks. When I faced the other direction, another castle stood tall and imposing against the gray sky. The exterior was so dark it looked more like a sharp shadow from here. Multiple turrets pointed toward the sky, each one looking more jagged than the next. I pressed my hand to my head, hoping I wasn't in some kind of drugged-up stupor in a corner somewhere. But it all felt so real . . . so familiar.

I didn't know where to go or what to do, but if I stayed here, I thought I might be trapped in this hell forever. I started walking toward the castle in the distance. I didn't know how far it was, but I was hoping to find some kind of construction worker or manager to help me out of here . . . if they could. With every step I took, this place, this world, felt more tangible. Visceral. The way the gravel crunched under my heels, the smell of dry earth in my nose, and even the way the clouds moved across the dark sky . . .

Everything hurt and when I glanced down, the tips of my hair had gone from pitch-black to emerald green. The tangy taste of blood filled my mouth, and when I ran my tongue over my teeth, they felt almost pointy. Even the tips of my fingers ached, and where my nails were flat and dull, they now looked like little black claws. No. I shook my head. This was all a bad dream, a bad trip. I would wake up at any moment and this would all be over, like when Rhode woke up from one of her episodes. I stumbled forward, yet the castle still felt so far away.

All the hair on the back of my neck stood on edge like I was being watched or followed. The sound of scraping footsteps echoed behind me, yet every time I glanced over my shoulder, there was nothing there.

"Look, this isn't funny anymore!" I yelled to whatever things followed me. "I don't belong here, and the faster I leave, the faster you can go bother someone else."

The wind whipped around me, and my hair flew across my face, blocking out the world for a moment. Again, those eerie footsteps came from behind me, and I spun around ready to face off against the violent, hot stalker who brought me to this place. My feet ached from the spiked heels, and my ass was chafed from the ripped costume and my abrupt landing in this hellish world.

"You don't belong," a deep, gravelly voice rumbled from behind me.

I spun around and faced two hulking men dressed like knights of the freaking roundtable, King Arthur style. They had on thick brown pants, breastplates that looked like they were carved of smooth brown stone, and loose, light brown shirts under the breastplates. They each wore a helmet that was tight to their head and came around to points that protected their jawlines. A thick metal strip ran down the middle of the helmet to protect their noses. They each held a sword at their hips and wore thick gloves.

"Um, where did you come from?" I wrapped my arms around myself.

They took a few slow steps toward me and spread out as though to tackle me from both sides. "Just stumbled upon you."

I didn't believe him. There was a glint of interest in his eye that I didn't like, and the way they looked at each other with a smirk of interest made my stomach roll. My mind whirled and dizziness assailed me. Memories hit me, memories that weren't my own.

A man in this exact uniform reached for me with that look of interest. My hand extended out toward him, and a few coins hit my palm. When my fingers closed around the cool coins, a part of me grew cold, like I was shutting my mind off and distancing myself from what was about to happen to my body. I felt myself go dead inside.

"Hey, service now," the man demanded as he snapped his fingers at me.

When I didn't respond fast enough, his hand cracked across my cheek and I flew into the wall. Pain exploded across the side of my face and the warm trickle of blood flowed down my cheek and into my mouth. A coppery taste rolled over my tongue. I blinked my eyes, trying to see past the pain. Too weak to fight back, I felt the grip of death deep in my soul. My time was growing closer, but for my sister I would endure. For my sister, I would survive a bit longer. He shoved my face into the wall and held me there with my chest forced into the hard stone surface. I felt the press of his body against mine as he tore at my long skirts. The sound of ripping fabric filled my ears, yet I didn't fight back. I was property bought and paid for. I held my lips together to stop from whimpering. If I whimpered, he'd make it hurt more. I knew men like him well.

He shoved his knee between my legs and kicked them apart. The coins fell from my hand and clattered to the floor, and he snickered in my ear. "Whores should hold their coin tighter. I'll teach you."

His dark snicker echoed in my ears, and the smell of his rancid breath stung my nose. I looked to the shitty room with a single bed, a dresser covered with perfumes and cosmetics to hide my impending death, and a night robe wrapped over the back of a chair. The second I felt cool air on my skin, I knew he'd shove himself in me and I'd have to hold back my tears of shame and pain until he left. I ground my teeth together, praying for a quick end. . . Please let it be over . . . Let it be over . . . Let it be over . . .

I shook my head, trying to force the memory that wasn't my own away. What the fuck was that? Yet when I faced these two soldiers once more, it felt so real. Everything about this place did. The two of them took a step toward me as though this was a practiced dance they'd grown used to. I took a step back and held my hands up. "Hold on."

"For what, comely demon?" One snickered.

"I'll enjoy you," the other growled.

"Me first," the one with the cruel smile demanded.

"No, me," the other growly one argued.

He reached for my wrist, and I spun away from him. "No one is going to be first!"

Anger flared in my chest. It burned so hot I felt I could light their worlds on fire. Who the hell did they think they were? I didn't know what the memory was, but this was my life and I said hell no.No one was entitled to my body, and if I was going down, these two fucks were going down with me.

They both chuckled and dove toward me. I planted my feet and lifted my chin. "BACK OFF!"

Rage detonated within my chest and flowed down toward my hands. Purple flower petals exploded from the palms of my hands. My instincts took over, and I sucked in a deep breath and blew them toward the soldiers. The petals fluttered and danced as they drifted the distance between us and then brushed across their faces and down their arms like a gentle caress. At first, their faces looked confused, like they didn't know how or why these petals came from me. I was just as confused.

The color drained from their faces and purple lines ran over their skin like the roots of a tree. They crept over their arms and up toward their faces. Their lips turned black as they threw their heads back, screaming in agony. They fell to the ground, their knees giving out as they scratched at their throats, trying to fight for breath. Those purple lines covered their cheeks and forked out over their eyes. The color leached from their eyes, turning them white. They flipped to their backs and convulsed violently. I pressed the back of my hand over my mouth and stumbled back, wanting to get away but unable to.

The breath left their bodies and the spasms stopped. I leaned toward them to take a peek at their bodies. Blood leaked from their eyes, noses, and mouths. It stuck to their faces in dried clumps. I gagged and I shook from head to toe. Tears pricked at my eyes. This wasn't an act or some kind of weird show, this was real . . . this was terrifying . . . and I just murdered two people . . . I think.

"Fuck!" I turned and ran as fast as I could into a world I didn't know.